When Madi Dornseif, a senior majoring in Strategic Communication, interviewed for her internship with Butler University’s Official Mascot, Butler Blue IV, it had to be rescheduled and held over Zoom. The tool was foreign to both Madi and the young mascot at the time, but not for long. She would soon learn that the dream internship she had just landed would need to adapt to the growing COVID-19 crisis.
Hear from Madi on how she was able to shift to being Blue’s intern in a new virtual and hybrid world.
Why did you apply to your internship?
I love the Butler Blue Live Mascot Program. When I was a senior in high school, I visited Butler three different times just to try to meet Trip! I always loved the fact that Butler had this program incorporated into its marketing efforts. It is actually one of the reasons I decided to go to Butler. As someone who was interested in going into marketing, I loved the uniqueness of the University’s marketing compared to other schools I had applied to.
During my junior year, when I received an email super early in the morning from College of Communication (CCOM) Internship Director Scott Bridge (just like every other CCOM student has) that listed this internship opportunity, it was a no brainer!
Describe your responsibilities as the official Live Mascot Program Intern.
In my current role, I have been able to hone my skills in generating content to gain new followers on social media platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. One of my unique skills in this position is graphic design, using Adobe Creative Cloud. A main task of mine is creating graphics, GIFs, and stickers to promote Butler Blue IV on social media and throughout the University. Last semester, I had the opportunity to work on Blue’s first birthday party and run the Butler Blue sticker store. Both of these projects were a lot of work but definitely rewarding.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your internship?
Being able to feel like an actual employee. In my past internships, I only occasionally saw my work being put to use. As the Marketing Intern with the Butler Blue Mascot Program, I thought seeing my first graphic posted on Butler’s and Butler Blue’s social media channels was unbelievable. So many of my friends came up to me and told me how proud they were to see my work.
What have been the main things you’ve learned from this experience?
The main thing I have learned from this experience thus far is filming and editing vlogs. I have only had a small amount of experience when it comes to videography, and that was one of the main things I really wanted to learn before I enter the professional world. I have been able to film and edit a number of vlogs in this internship and have really seen my skills benefit from this experience.
Another thing that I have learned is that running a sticker store is a lot harder than it sounds!
Favorite memory/story/project?
A funny memory I have with Blue is that he insisted on sitting on my lap during a car ride. I feel like Blue and I have bonded, and we are buds now. I love getting to go see him and play with him. Work does not feel like work when Blue is around!
My favorite project was Blue’s first birthday party on October 30, 2020. There was so much preparation that went into his party—more than any one of my own! I was nervous that only a small number of students would want to take a picture with Blue. Oh, was I wrong. There was a line in front of Atherton Union before my boss, Evan Krauss, and I even arrived. When the time came to start Blue’s party, there were easily more than a few hundred students lined up all the way to the library just to see Blue on his special day.
Your internship is partially in-person and partially remote—how have you adapted to that?
I have adapted quite well to a hybrid internship. I will never forget when I got the email from Evan telling me my internship would be virtual. It broke my heart. I thought I would never get to work with Blue.
But it actually worked out a ton better than I thought it would! I get to work with Evan and Blue in-person about once or twice a week. And I think I am getting more work done in a timely manner at home than I would in the office. I don’t know how distracted I would be with having Blue in the office—I would just want to play with him all day!
Do you have plans for what you’ll be doing next?
I am actually trying to figure that out right now. I am currently applying for jobs in Indianapolis and Nashville, Tennessee. I would love to continue working with social media and graphic design. My skills have improved so much in this internship, and I would love to continue doing similar tasks in my first job. My dream job would be working in marketing with the Nashville Predators, but working in sports is difficult to get into. I recently applied for an entry-level graphic design position, so fingers crossed!